Anglo-US Defence Trade Treaty

Lord Astor of Hever: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Government of the United States about progress with ratifying the Anglo-US Defence Trade Treaty.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: Her Majesty's Government continue to discuss the defence trade co-operation treaty with the US Government at all levels. The treaty still awaits ratification by the US Senate. The UK has worked hard to ensure that members of the Senate are aware of the importance the UK places on the treaty and the benefits for both nations in operational and industrial terms. MoD and FCO officials in the British embassy in Washington regularly discuss treaty implementation with their US colleagues in preparation for ratification.

Apprenticeships

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how apprenticeships have benefited ethnic minorities, disabled people and women over the past two years.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: World Class Apprenticeships: Unlocking Talent, Building Skills for All, published in January 2008, assessed the distribution of the benefits of apprenticeships among the black and minority ethnic (BME) population, disabled people and women. This assessment found that not everyone benefited equally from the opportunities offered by apprenticeships: the 2005 apprenticeships pay survey found a 40 per cent average pay differential between male and female apprentices and found that BME young people were underrepresented in the programme. Through World Class Apprenticeships, the Government committed to addressing these inequalities and outlined specific measures that would be taken to achieve this.
	In 2008, the Learning and Skills Council commissioned research by BMG Research, using a survey of apprentices, into the benefits of completing an apprenticeship. This research concluded that apprenticeships do not particularly nor generally fail any major group of apprentices who complete the programme, but showed a clear gender bias in participation in sectors where this would be expected from the labour force in general. While the apprenticeship experience appears a little more positive for BME apprentices in terms of motivation and confidence, BME apprentices are less likely to have employed status and more likely to have returned to learning. The results of this research were published in February 2009, and a copy of the report will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
	The National Apprenticeship Service has commissioned research by the Institute of Employment Studies to help shape this pilot work. This will determine the most severe areas of under-representation and what lessons can be learnt from existing projects aiming to address inequality. The final research report is due to be published at the end of June 2009, after which providers will be invited to take part in a number of pilots to help address inequality in apprenticeships.

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill

Lord Morris of Manchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations the Secretary of State for Children, School and Families has received from Dr Richard Williams, chief executive of Rathbone Training, about the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill as now drafted; what reply has been sent; and what action they are taking to meet the charity's concerns.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: Dr Richard Williams wrote to the Secretary of State for Children, School and Families on 24 April 2009. In his letter, Dr Williams raised concerns that the work-based programme led apprenticeship delivery model operated by Rathbone will not meet the criteria for an apprenticeship under the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill. The Secretary of State for Children, School and Families' response will be placed in the Library. Officials have since met representatives of Rathbone and Barnardos to explore how these concerns might be addressed and we are committed to continuing this dialogue during the passage of the Bill.

Armed Forces: Compensation Scheme

Lord Morris of Manchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to remove time limits for claims under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: We believe that the current time limits are suitable for the purposes of the scheme and have no plans to remove them.
	There is a time limit to claim of five years. Where diagnosis of an illness is not made until within one year of the end of the five years, then the time for making a claim is extended by one year starting from the date on which this diagnosis was made.
	The five-year time limit does not apply to claims for a late onset illness which has been diagnosed by an accredited medical specialist. A late onset illness is defined as including a malignancy, or a disorder of the liver, kidneys or central nervous system which is capable of being caused by occupational exposure occurring more than five years before the onset of the illness; and as including a mental disorder which is capable of being caused by an incident occurring more than five years before the onset of the illness. The five years can also be extended by up to a year if a person is physically or mentally incapable of either making a claim or instructing another to do so on their behalf.

Arms Exports

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the 1998 Code of Conduct on Arms Exports has been fully observed by the United Kingdom and all other European Union member states since it came into force, in particular with regard to Sri Lanka; and whether future exports by the United Kingdom and European Union member states will be made conditional on access for aid workers and journalists and on reasonable self-determination for Tamil majority areas.

Lord Davies of Abersoch: The UK has one of the most robust arms export licensing regimes in the world. All export licence applications, including any for Sri Lanka, are rigorously assessed on a case by case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria (which incorporates the EU Code of Conduct). Assessments of applications take account of all available information at the time of the application, including information about the situation in the receiving country, the capability and stated end use of the goods, and the past behaviour of the end user. Licences will not be issued if the proposed exports would be inconsistent with any of the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. In particular, a licence will not be issued if there is a clear risk that the goods would be used for internal repression, would provoke or prolong armed conflict or would aggravate existing tensions within the recipient country. Consequently, the UK has fully observed the code of conduct for all destinations, including Sri Lanka.
	Individual EU member states are responsible for observing the code of conduct. I am unable to comment on the actions of other member states in this respect.
	The Government continue to be very concerned by the internal situation in Sri Lanka, both in terms of the recent conflict and the human rights situation, which is inextricably linked to it. We will continue to monitor the situation very closely. All export licence applications for military and dual use equipment will continue to be rigorously scrutinised on a case by case basis and a licence will not be issued if to do so would be inconsistent with the consolidated criteria.

Benefits: Employment and Support Allowance

Baroness Thomas of Winchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to restrict further entitlement to employment and support allowance by changing the work capability assessment criteria.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the purpose of the current review of the work capability assessment used to determine entitlement to employment and support allowance; when the review will conclude; and how its findings will be reported.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the terms of reference for the current review of the work capability assessment used to determine entitlement to employment and support allowance.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the relationship between the current review of the work capability assessment used to determine entitlement to employment and support allowance and the annual review of that assessment.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government which individuals and organisations are participating in the group carrying out the review of the work capability assessment used to determine entitlement to employment and support allowance.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the medical experts who are participating in the group carrying out the review of the work capability assessment used to determine entitlement to employment and support allowance include practising occupational therapists.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The Department for Work and Pensions is currently carrying out an internal review of the work capability assessment, introduced in October 2008. The purpose of the review is to ensure that the new assessment is accurately identifying those individuals who are incapable of work related activity, those who are currently unfit for work but would benefit from support and an eventual return to work, and those that, despite their condition, are fit to continue work at that time. It is also considering how the assessment might be modified to account for an individual's adaptation to their condition.
	A copy of the terms of reference for the review has been placed in the Library.
	This review is chaired by officials in the department and involves representatives from the fields of physical disability, mental function, disability assessment and occupational health, as well as representatives of disability groups and employers. This includes participation from representatives of:
	Atos Healthcare;Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development;Citizens Advice Bureau;Disability Benefits Consortium;Disability Employment Advisory Council;Mencap;Mind;National Autistic Society;Neurological Disability and Rehab Medicine;Occupational Medicine;Occupational Psychiatry;Parkinson's Disease Society;Royal College of Psychiatrists;RNIB;RNID;RSI Action;Social Security Advisory Committee; andTribunal Service
	There are no practicing occupational therapists taking part in the review.
	As a result of the review, the department will produce recommendations to Ministers on possible enhancements to the work capability assessment. If changes are made to account for adaptation, it is likely that there will be an increase in the number of people considered able to look for a range of jobs straight away and thus be eligible for jobseeker's allowance.
	We plan to finish the review in the summer, and its findings and proposals will be reported shortly afterwards.
	The department is also committed to an annual independent review of the work capability assessment. This statutory and ongoing requirement—set out in the Welfare Reform Act 2007—is focused specifically on the operation of the assessment against Sections 8 and 9 of the Act; that is the assessments of limited capability for work and limited capability for work related activity.
	The internal review is a one-off technical evaluation of the criteria involved in assessing entitlement to ESA. It is normal that the department evaluates new policy initiatives in this way. The independent review is an ongoing annual requirement to allow parliamentary scrutiny of the effectiveness of the policy in meeting its stated aims. While the reviews will inevitably cover some of the same ground, the nature of review activity may be different.

Benefits: Employment and Support Allowance

Baroness Thomas of Winchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect management information statistics to become available for employment and support allowance, including appeals; and whether they intend to revisit the findings of the current review of the work capability assessment used to determine entitlement to employment and support allowance when those data become available.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: A breakdown of individual benefit data, and for clients groups, on employment and support allowance will be available in summer 2009.
	The department is currently carrying out an internal review of the work capability assessment. This began in March, at which point several thousand assessments had taken place. Once this is complete, a report of its findings and proposals will be produced. A further independent review of the work capability assessment will follow, which will report on the first year of the assessment.

Census

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what ethnic groupings will be referred to in the next census.

Baroness Crawley: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, National Statistician, to Lord Laird, dated June 2009.
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what ethnic groupings will be referred to in the next Census. (HL4446)
	I refer you to my reply to a similar question in the House of Lords Official Report 709, col. 90.
	Subsequent to the publication of the 2011 Census White Paper "Helping to shape tomorrow" in December, ONS has further considered concerns raised and has identified a small number of issues for further investigation and evidence gathering. One of these is the ethnic group question, where we are testing the performance of a possible additional category to collect information on people identifying as "Kashmiri".
	More information about the further question testing programme is available on the website http://www.ons.gov.uk/census/2011-census/news-and-events/additional- questionnaire-testing-planned/index.html.
	The programme of testing is not complete and consequently no decisions have yet been made about any of the possible revisions. The Draft Census Order which sets out the topics and particulars to be collected by each question is currently scheduled to be laid before Parliament around mid October. Parts of the Census Order require the approval of Parliament.

Civil Service: Performance Pay

Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay: To ask Her Majesty's Government (a) what the total monetary value of Senior Civil Service non-consolidated performance pay awards was in the Home Office, (b) how many and what proportion of the Senior Civil Service staff in the Home Office received performance pay awards by SCS pay band, and (c) how those awards were distributed by pay band and award category, for each of the past five years for which data are available.

Lord West of Spithead: The criterion for awarding senior civil servants (SCS) with performance related pay awards is set by the Prime Minister following independent advice from the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB). The level of payments takes into account a number of factors including individual performance against agreed priority business objectives and targets. Performance-related pay awards reward and provide incentives for in-year delivery of key results. Over the three years of SR 04 the Home Office met all its PSA objectives.
	For the 2007-08 reporting year, 127 SCS staff in the Home Office and its agencies received a non-consolidated performance pay awards; the total amount spent on these bonuses was £1,246,000. Bonuses were awarded to 75 per cent of Home Office SCS staff.
	For the 2006-07 reporting year, 158 SCS staff in the Home Office and its agencies (including SCS staff who moved as part of the machinery of government change to Ministry of Justice) received a non-consolidated performance pay awards; the total amount spent on these bonuses was £1,513,209. Bonuses were awarded to 62.5 per cent of Home Office SCS staff.
	Breakdowns of non-consolidated performance pay awards by pay band and award type are given in the attached tables.
	Table 1 shows awards paid in 2008 for the 2007-08 reporting year, with a breakdown by pay band and award type.
	Table 2 shows awards paid in 2007 for the 2006-07 reporting year, with a breakdown by pay band and award type. For the financial year 2006-07, pay band three members of staff receiving a bonus were broken down into two categories only: middle and top figures do not include permanent secretaries and SCS equivalents.
	Records of non-consolidated performance pay awards for financial years prior to 2006-07 are not available and it is not possible to provide the information requested for these years without incurring disproportionate costs.
	Non-consolidated performance-related pay awards paid to Home Office SCS staff.
	
		
			 1 Non-consolidated performance-related pay awards paid in 2008 for financial year 2007-08, breakdown by Pay Band and Award Type 
			  Top Exceptional Top High Middle High Middle Standard 
			  Number Total Amount Number Total Amount Number Total Amount Number Total Amount 
			 PB1 8 £128,000.00 17 £187,000.00 19 £153,000.00 37 £222,000.00 
			 PB2 2 £44,000.00 7 £119,000.00 15 £167,000.00 15 £125,000.00 
			 PB3 2 £40,000.00 1 £17,000.00 2 £24,000.00 2 £20,000.00 
			 Totals 12 £212,000.00 25 £323,000.00 36 £344,000.00 54 £367,000.00 
		
	
	
		
			 1 Non-consolidated performance-related pay awards paid in 2008 for financial year 2007-08, breakdown by Pay Band and Award Type 
			  Total Number receiving bonuses in PB Total Amount paid to PB 
			 PB1 81 £690,000.00 
			 PB2 39 £455,000.00 
			 PB3 8 £101,000.00 
			 Totals 127 £1,246,000.00 
		
	
	
		
			 2 Non-consolidated performance-related pay awards paid in 2007 for financial year 2006-07, breakdown by Pay Band and Award Type 
			  Top Exceptional Top High Middle High Middle Standard 
			  Number Total Amount Number Total Amount Number Total Amount Number Total Amount 
			 PB1 8 £123,321.00 32 £382,984.00 36 £269,500.00 33 £165,000.00 
			 PB2 4 £80,000.00 9 £134,154.00 13 £152,000.00 12 £76,000.00 
			 PB3   4 £54,000.00   6 £76,250.00 
			 Totals 12 £203,321.00 45 £571,138.00 49 £421,500.00 51 £317,250.00 
		
	
	
		
			 2 Non-consolidated performance-related pay awards paid in 2007 for financial year 2006-07, breakdown by Pay Band and Award Type 
			  Total Number receiving bonuses in PB Total amount 
			 PB1 109 £940,805.00 
			 PB2 38 £442,154.00 
			 PB3 10 £130,250.00 
			 Totals 157 £1,513,209.00

Civil Service: Redundancy

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Patel of Bradford on 2 June (WA 21), for an individual earning £25,000 per annum aged 50 and with 15 years' service, what would be (a) the statutory cost of a redundancy payment in the private sector, and (b) the Civil Service scheme cost for redundancy.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: The statutory cost of a redundancy payment in the private sector for an individual earning £25,000 aged 50 with 15 years' service is £6,650.
	I refer the noble Lord to the reply that Lord Patel gave him on 2 June 2009 (Official Report, col. WA 67).

Constitutional Renewal Bill

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will answer Question HL3848 tabled on 19 May about whether they intend to introduce the Constitutional Renewal Bill before the Summer Recess; and what are the reasons for the delay in answering it.

Lord Bach: I replied to the noble Lord's Question on 18 June (Official Report, cols. WA 221-22). While proposals for a Parliamentary Standards Authority are being worked up, the planning of parliamentary business remains subject to change. These circumstances, and a desire to give the noble Lord as accurate an answer as possible, have led to a delay in responding to the previous Question.

Credit Cards

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Oldham on 1 June (WA 13—14) concerning credit card companies, what plans they have to require those companies to print the due date of statements in large print.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: Industry best practice guidance requires lenders to state clearly the payment due date in statements. This does not currently specify the size of the text. The Government expect all lenders to be sensitive to the needs of customers with particular needs, such as the visually impaired, and make appropriate adjustments.

Crime: Drugs and Guns

Baroness Warsi: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many overseas nationals were (a) arrested, (b) cautioned, and (c) prosecuted, for drug- and gun-related crimes in each of the past three years.

Lord West of Spithead: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Elections

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what conclusions they have drawn from recent opinion polls about support for proportional and simple majority voting systems.

Lord Bach: In his Statement to the House on 10 June, the Prime Minister confirmed that the Government will be setting out proposals for taking the debate forward. The Government believe that any move towards electoral reform should be led by our engagement with the public. There are a variety of views about which electoral system is best, but all have their advantages and disadvantages. This Government have introduced new voting systems for the devolved Administrations, the European Parliament and the London Mayoral and Assembly elections. The voting systems review, published by the Government last year, outlines the experience of these systems and contributes to and informs the continuing debate on this issue.

Elections: European Parliament

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the procedure for requesting and carrying out recounts in elections to the European Parliament in Great Britain at (a) counting, and (b) regional, levels; and what assessment they have made of the adequacy of such arrangements.

Lord Bach: Once the local returning officer is satisfied that the number of votes for each registered party and individual candidate is accurate, he can proceed to announce the provisional result for the local counting area. Once this has taken place, the following people have the right under Rule 54 of the European parliamentary election rules, to ask the local returning officer for a recount:
	candidates on a party list;an individual candidate;an election agent of a party or an individual candidate; anda counting agent of each registered party or individual candidate who is specifically authorised to ask for a recount.
	Under Rule 54(1) of the European parliamentary election rules, the local returning officer is required to consider any request for a recount but may refuse if in their opinion a recount is unreasonable. If a recount is granted, the local returning officer is required to conduct the count under the same procedure as the original count. The Electoral Commission has issued guidance on the procedure which local returning officers should follow for recounts. This includes advising local returning officers to consult the regional returning officer if a recount is required. There is no statutory provision for recounts to take place at regional levels. Under the terms of Section 5 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, the Electoral Commission must prepare and publish a report on the administration of European parliamentary elections in the UK. The Government will consider the findings of the Commission's report.

Employment: Discrimination

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to encourage employers to increase their job offers to particular categories, such as disabled and long-term sickness applicants.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The Government's strategy was set out in the Welfare Reform White Paper Raising Expectations and Increasing Support: Reforming Welfare for the Future. The Government conducted a series of expert employer panel events from July 2008 to March 2009. These events gave committed employers the opportunity to share barriers they face in recruiting and retaining disabled people, and current good practice that helps to overcome these barriers, and to discuss how we might put into place further initiatives and good practice ideas that could work for them and, potentially, for other employers.
	Specifically, we work with local employer partnerships to ensure disabled people and those with long-term health problems are considered by employers, we are working with national employers—both in the public and private sectors—to encourage a positive attitude towards these customers and we work closely with the Employers' Forum on Disability to encourage best practice among employers.

Gangmasters

Lord Burnett: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much tax and penalties have been recovered in association with HM Revenue and Customs by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority since its inception.

Lord Davies of Oldham: It is difficult to give an accurate estimate of the amount of tax and other penalties recovered by HM Revenue and Customs as a result of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority's (GLA) activities. However, during the licensing scheme's first year of operation (April 2006 to March 2007) the GLA has estimated that approximately 40 gangmasters who had not previously been registered for VAT did so in order to comply with the GLA licensing standards1.
	1 Figures obtained from Gangmasters Licensing Authority

Gulf War Illnesses

Lord Roberts of Conwy: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Taylor of Bolton on 20 May (WA 323) on there being no Defence Minister at the Symposium held in the House of Lords on 24 March on the report of the Congressionally-mandated United States Research Advisory committee's inquiry into Gulf War Illnesses, whether they now have copies of the factual information proffered by Lord Tyler in his supplementary question to Lord Tunnicliffe on 27 April (Official Report, House of Lords, col. 9); and whether they will amend the parliamentary record on the basis of that information.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: The noble Lord, Lord Tyler, has not forwarded the letters he referred to during his supplementary question to the MoD on 27 April (Official Report, cols. 8-10). Without further details or copies of the letters it is not possible for the MoD to comment any further. There is no requirement to amend the parliamentary record because our position remains as set out in the Answer I gave on 20 May (Official Report, col. WA 323).

Health: Skin

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken in response to the report of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Skin of November 2008.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The Government are taking forward a range of work relevant to the recommendations in the report. For example:
	the implementation of the Improving Outcomes Guidance on skin cancer will mean that most surgery will be carried out only by those who have received approved training and specialist skin cancer multi-disciplinary teams should play a lead role in training and teaching other health professionals about skin cancer;the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is planning to provide guidelines on skin cancer prevention later this year; andthe Cancer Reform Strategy (2007) also made commitments to increase the funding available for awareness programmes. The Department of Health and the National Cancer Action Team has a range of work underway to promote skin cancer prevention and awareness, including the funding of the CRUK SunSmart campaign and pilot projects at local level.

Health: Skin

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of consultant dermatologists in the United Kingdom compared with European levels.

Lord Darzi of Denham: United Kingdom figures are not collected centrally. However, a table outlining the number of staff within the dermatology speciality in England (only) has been placed in the Library. We do not collect the data on overseas consultant dermatologists that would allow us to make a comparison.

Health: Skin

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what training in the diagnosis of skin diseases is available to (a) general practitioners, (b) nurses, and (c) other medical staff.

Lord Darzi of Denham: It is the responsibility of employers, in co-operation with their staff, to ensure all professions are trained to the appropriate standard, including the diagnosis of skin conditions. Courses external to the employers' organisations are available and organisations will provide training internally. The department does not keep a record of all training available.

Health: Skin

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had on whether to make dermatology a compulsory part of the curriculum for those training to become (a) general practitioners, (b) nurses, and (c) pharmacists.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The content of curriculum and quality and standard of training for medical professions and nurses is not the responsibility of the department but the responsibility of the appropriate professional regulatory body.
	However, the department is committed to working with the professional regulatory bodies, royal colleges and others to promote high standards of education and training to ensure that students, doctors and nurses are equipped with the up to date knowledge, skills and attitudes essential for professional practice.
	We set out in the White Paper, Pharmacy in England: Building on strengths-delivering the future, our plans to review current arrangements for pharmacist undergraduate education and pre-registration to ensure that future pharmacists have the required clinical skills and experience to equip them to deliver services. Work on developing a future curriculum is not at the stage to support discussion on services, including dermatology.

HMS "Poseidon"

Lord Astor of Hever: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the status of the wreck of the submarine HMS "Poseidon", sunk after a collision on 9 June 1931 north of Weihaiwei, and of the remains of crew members.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: The Ministry of Defence has recently been notified of information on the official website of the Shanghai Salvage Bureau, which states that HMS "Poseidon" was salvaged by Chinese authorities in 1972, although there is no mention of the remains of her crew.
	We take matters concerning United Kingdom military maritime graves extremely seriously and are investigating this matter closely. Further details have been requested from the Chinese authorities. When that response is received, the Ministry of Defence will determine what further steps need to be taken.

Houses of Parliament: Select Committees

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Myners on 21 May (WA 361), whether they will introduce a centralised system of recording all future instances where Ministers or officials decline to give evidence to Parliamentary Select Committees.

Baroness Crawley: There are no plans to do so.

Housing

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have commissioned research into the effectiveness of empty dwelling management orders (EDMOs); what research has taken place; and what is their assessment of the success of EDMOs.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The department is making a continuous assessment of the success of EDMOs through its regular contact with local authorities and the Empty Homes Agency. Altogether 24 interim EDMOs have been approved by the Residential Property Tribunal Service (RPTS) and nearly half of these were approved in the past 12 months, compared with none in 2006 when the legislation first came into effect. We believe these figures show that the legislation is taking effect.

Immigration: Oakington Removal Centre

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many reforms recommended by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons have been implemented at Oakington immigration removal centre since her last report on the centre; and whether they will be fully implemented by the time of the expansion of the centre.

Lord West of Spithead: The Chief Inspector of Prisons' report into Oakington immigration removal centre was published in December 2008 and contained 111 recommendations. Of these, 89 were fully accepted by the UK Border Agency, and a further 13 were accepted in principle or in part. Action has been completed to implement 60 of the recommendations and progress is being made against the outstanding 42. We expect the majority will be completed by the end of the calendar year.
	There are no plans to expand Oakington prior to its closure.

National Policy Statements

Lord Greaves: To ask the Leader of the House whether she will make proposals about the way in which the House of Lords may scrutinise national policy statements.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: I have today laid a Written Ministerial Statement before the House setting out the proposed scrutiny arrangements for national policy statements in the Lords.

Northern Ireland: Security

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the security situation in Northern Ireland.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: As the most recent report of the Independent Monitoring Commission confirms, the threat from dissident republican activity remains consistently more serious than at any other time in the past five years.

Nuclear Weapons: Trident

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will reconsider the planned September date for the Initial Gate decision on the replacement of Trident nuclear weapons to allow for parliamentary debate of what they propose.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: I refer the noble Lord to the Answer my right honourable friend the Defence Secretary gave in another place on 22 June 2009 (Official Report, col. 628W) to the honourable Member for Islington North (Mr Corbyn).

Police: Northern Ireland

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many members of the Police Service for Northern Ireland are usually on duty in County Fermanagh.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: That is an operational matter for the chief constable. I have asked him to reply directly to the noble Lord, and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Postbanks

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they support the proposal to establish a United Kingdom Postbank similar to Postbank France.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: Post Office Ltd currently plays a vital role providing access to financial services through its national network of around 11,500 branches. It already offers an extensive range of financial services products including savings, insurance, mortgages, credit cards, and more than 1,600 free-to-use cash machines providing further access to cash across the network.
	We are keen for Post Office Ltd to increase its financial services offering using its unrivalled network to put a wider range of services within reasonable reach of the whole UK population.

Prisons

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Answer by Lord Bach on 10 June (Official Report, House of Lords, col. 629), by how much they plan to cut the prison medical service.

Lord Bach: The Government have no plans to cut prison medical services. We have invested £201.4 million for 2009-10. This has been supplemented by the National Offender Management Service which has invested £7.6 million year to date. Together these allocations form the baseline for offender healthcare funding. As with wider PCT allocations, these funds are subject to local commissioning and service provision.
	For 2010-11 the department plans to invest £206.8 million, which represents a 2.7 per cent uplift on the current financial year.
	Work is currently underway to ensure the department's investment in offender health is mainstreamed to form part of PCT baseline allocations from 2011 onwards.

Prisons: Education

Lord Quirk: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Answer by Lord Bach on 10 June (Official Report, House of Lords, col. 629), by how much they plan to reduce the provision of prison educational programmes.

Lord Bach: Prison educational programmes are funded from two government departments; the Department for Business Innovation and Skills and the Department for Children, Schools and Families. Between these two departments there is no intention to reduce the funding for the provision of prison educational programmes during 2009-10. There are also no current plans to reduce prison education programmes in future years.

Prisons: Northern Ireland

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what investments in capital work they propose for prisons in Northern Ireland in the next five years.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The Northern Ireland Prison Service currently has a capital works building budget of approximately £60 million over the three years (April 2008 to March 2011) covered by CSR07. The Prisons Minister announced in December 2007 plans to provide 400 extra places by March 2011.
	Capital funding beyond 2011 will be the subject of the next spending review. In preparation, plans are currently being developed for:
	the replacement of Magilligan prison with a new 800 place male prison for which construction is due to start in 2012;the relocation of the prison training facilities from Millisle to the new joint college at Desertcreat; andprovision for women prisoners in Northern Ireland.

Prisons: Officers

The Earl of Listowel: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Bach on 10 June (WA 152), what percentage of prison officers of (a) 12 months employment, (b) 24 months employment, and (c) 36 months employment, have achieved a Level B National Vocational Qualification in custodial care.

Lord Bach: Since September 2007, all newly recruited prison officers are required to complete a level 3 national vocational qualification (NVQ) in custodial care within a maximum of 18 months of joining the service. Therefore, all prison officers recruited since September 2007 will have achieved this qualification on reaching 24 months and 36 months employment. Currently, 96 per cent of prison officers of 12 months employment have achieved a level 3 NVQ in custodial care.

Territorial Army

Lord Astor of Hever: To ask Her Majesty's Government what financial support is available, and for how long, to Territorial Army soldiers whose posts are removed.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: Soldiers of the Territorial Army (TA) who are serving in additional duties commitments (ADC), full time reserve service (FTRS) or non-regular permanent staff (NRPS) posts may be eligible for financial support in the form of compensation for losing their posts. However, this is assessed on a case by case basis and financial amounts will vary.
	TA soldiers who are undertaking only man training days, under Sections 22 and 27 of the Reserve Forces Act 1996, do not receive financial support.
	ADC and FTRS do not have a generic redundancy scheme in place. Rather, if an individual is made redundant, a personal redundancy package would be calculated by the Government Actuary's Department.
	I refer the noble Lord to the Territorial Army Regulations Chapter 9 Part 5, held in the House Library, for a further breakdown of the support available to those in NRPS posts.

UN: Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 10 June (WA 154), whether the decision not to send officials from the Northern Ireland Office to the examination of the recommendations of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in its report on the United Kingdom of 22 May took account of the number of issues involving Northern Ireland in the report, including abortion, a possible Irish language act and the Equality Bill.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: I have nothing further to add to my Answer of 10 June (Official Report, col. WA 154).

UN: Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 10 June (WA 154), whether the Ministry of Justice took account of the number of submissions from Northern Ireland to the website of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights before sending its delegation in May to Geneva for the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights' consideration of the combined fourth to fifth periodic report of the United Kingdom.

Lord Bach: The Government took full account of all submissions from national human rights institutions, non-governmental organisations and other bodies, including those from Northern Ireland, prior to attending the examination of the UK by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Welfare Reform Bill

Lord Morris of Manchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consultation the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, James Purnell, has had with the Zacchaeus 2000 Trust about the Welfare Reform Bill as now drafted; and what action in particular they are taking to meet the trust's concerns regarding its impact on mothers of low birth-weight babies, people with mental illness, and others in pressing need.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The Government have received representations from the Zacchaeus 2000 Trust in response to the Green Paper No one Written Off: Reforming Welfare to Reward Responsibility and the White Paper Raising Expectations and Increasing Support: Reforming Welfare for the Future, and to the Welfare Reform Bill itself. In addition Ministers and officials have met representatives of the trust.
	As I have made clear during discussions in Grand Committee so far, it is not our intention to require any activity of lone parents with very young children. Meanwhile, we intend to carry forward safeguards for individuals with mental health conditions and continue to provide for hardship payments in the benefit system.
	I hope the debate we are having in the House is reassuring to the Zacchaeus 2000 Trust. I will consider carefully the arguments put forward on these important issues during our committee discussions, and we will continue to debate them as the Bill progresses through the House.